TNA Impact rating: Sting and Kurt Angle help the rating early, TNA Knockouts gauntlet match pops a good rating

TNA Impact drew a 1.22 rating on Thursday, which is up from the 1.1 rating the show drew last week. The show opened with a solid 1.21 rating for the Kurt Angle and Sting vs. Team 3D angle. The show peaked on the fifth quarter-hour for the TNA Knockouts gauntlet match, which scored a 1.33 rating. However, the rating dropped during the final three hours and the conclusion of the Angle and Sting saga drew the second lowest rating of the night.

Powell's POV: It's rare to see TNA quarter-hours reach 1.3, but the women pulled it of twice due via the gauntlet match. The big drop came for the Lethal Consequences vs. Motor City Machine Guns, as the rating went from a 1.33 down to a 1.19, then dropped to a 1.14 for the tag title match. Overall, though, these are encouraging numbers for TNA. As I mentioned last night, I liked the way they stuck with the Angle and Sting theme for 30 minutes to start the show.